N-400 December banned country

[Chidang 8]

I already have a green card and have been physically present in the United States since 2019 without leaving. My concern is the recent ban affecting certain countries and the reported pause on USCIS processing for applications moving from permanent residency to U.S. citizenship. My country is on the list, and my understanding is that USCIS has temporarily stopped processing these cases. My documents are almost complete, and I was planning to file for naturalization by the end of December. Given these recent developments, I would like guidance on the appropriate next steps and the best way forward under the current policy.

Edited Sunday at 09:13 AM by Chidang

[OldUser 11,148]

~ The thread was moved to US Citizenship General Discussion forum ~

[JeanneAdil 7,406]

If you read thru the internet post on this subject from attorney offices and news media and groups that fight our causes,  seems they are completely baffled about what is and what will be 

and who knows what will happen for real 

 

Like December 2 white house memo says states are permanently banned (and some partial ban)   but then continues later in the letter to say that each case will be settled on case-by-case basis and all will undergo high security vetting 

 

I would only guess your N 400 will be worked on at USCIS office but then interview will not be scheduled till ban is over (or resolved to some extent) as 1 country did in memo of December 16, 2025

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/12/restricting-and-limiting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-security-of-the-united-states/

 

(i)   Since the issuance of Proclamation 10949, Turkmenistan has engaged productively with the United States and demonstrated significant progress in improving its identity-management and information-sharing procedures.  As a result, the restrictions imposed on Turkmenistan in this proclamation modify and supersede those set forth in section 3(f) of Proclamation 10949

[Fr8dog 559]

It's going to be tough to "advise" anything with the amount of "potential changes" being floated around as sound bites almost on a daily base.

The only advise I hand out these days is: verify each and every news story you come across before acting on it. News outlets are a business first and an outlet second. Big headlines sells adds, correct ones might not. (And luckily everybody does it regardless of political interest).

Use only official government sides to verify the rules and base your decision on those.

 

I've stated before that nobody has ever said "I wished I would have waited a few more months before filing my petition" And that mostly still holds true. Fees will continue to increase, wait-time generally become longer And requirements usually are more harsh over time as well.

 

Do your research, check your sources and make a plan. Worse case scenario they deny your application and your out the filing fee.